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Comedian and “serious dharma student” Garry Shandling dead at 66

by Rod Meade Sperry| March 24, 2016

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Garry Shandling — the brilliant comedian, actor, and comic writer behind several classic TV series, including his own It’s Garry Shandling’s Show and The Larry Sanders Show — has died, according to the celebrity gossip site, TMZ (and now, other sources). Shandling also considered himself “a serious student of dharma,” and was a longtime mindfulness practitioner in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition.

As such, I had the opportunity to write about Shandling a few times. He was a figure in our Buddhism-and-comedy feature, “Wise Fools,” and back in January of this year, I got to share a fresh bit of Buddhism-and-comedy material that Shandling first tried out on the Dalai Lama. (Spoiler: It didn’t go over so well.)

Though we at Lion’s Roar never got to meet him, his presence was in our offices; our editor-in-chief Melvin McLeod loves Shandling’s work as much if not more than I do, and I think it’s probably reasonable to say that we’ve spent perhaps too much time gabbing about and rehashing classic Larry Sanders bits and such. But it’s been no guilty pleasure: Shandling was hilarious, and could be edgy, but there was, above all, a real sense of humility and humanity in his work. Like so many, we’ll miss him and wish to share our sympathies with the many, many others who will too.

 

 

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Rod Meade Sperry

About Rod Meade Sperry

Rod Meade Sperry is digital editorial director for Lion's Roar. He is, with Miguel Chen, co-author of I Wanna Be Well: How a Punk Found Peace and You Can Too and The Death of You: A Book for Anyone Who Might Not Live Forever. Rod also edited the Lion's Roar book, A Beginner’s Guide to Meditation: Practical Advice and Inspiration from Contemporary Buddhist Teachers.

Topics: Breaking News, Comedy & Humor, Plum Village Tradition / Order of Interbeing, Thich Nhat Hanh

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